Leadership maine wellness in partnership with healthy ... · Physical challenges 20.5% 30 On-site employee health center 14.4% 21 Massage Therapy 12.3% 18 Peer support group 9.6%

Survey Report

Maine CDC Division of Population Health

Cardiovascular Health Program

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 1

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 2

Purpose of Survey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2

How the Survey was Performed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2

Response Rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 2

Questions Asked and Summary of Responses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 29

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 30

Healthy Maine Works Survey Report 1

Acknowledgements

Prepared by:

Meredith Backus Maine CDC, Cardiovascular Health Program

Review Provided by:

Troy Fullmer Maine CDC, Cardiovascular Health Program

Holly Richards Maine CDC, Cardiovascular Health Program

A special thank you to the Leadership Maine Phi Class Yellow Team who developed, administered, and

analyzed the data.


Introduction

Over the past 10 years, the number of working-age adults with chronic conditions such as cardiovascular

disease and diabetes has grown by 251 percent, further burdening our health care systems in the United

States. Improvements in social and physical environments make healthy behaviors easier and more

achievable for people living in Maine. A healthier community delivers healthier workers to our

businesses, as well as a healthier population to our health care system.

According to the National Small Business Association, 93 percent of small businesses say the health of

their employees is important to their businesses’ bottom line, but just 22 percent are currently offering

a wellness program2. Worksite wellness programs can help to support and reinforce healthy choices and

behaviors, making it easier for Mainers to take charge of their health.

Purpose of Survey

Healthy Maine Works (HMW), a Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (MeCDC) initiative,

supports and provides employers of all sizes with free tools and resources to develop a worksite

wellness program based on what has been proven effective. HMW was contacted by members of

Leadership Maine, a leadership development program of the Maine Development Foundation, to learn

more about the initiative and find out if it could assist those efforts.

It was decided that conducting a survey of Leadership Maine’s more than 800 alumni would be a good

way to learn:

The number of alumni that currently do/do not have worksite wellness programs

Their attitudes towards worksite wellness programs

Barriers related to implementing worksite wellness programs

Familiarity with Healthy Maine Works

How the Survey was Performed

The Leadership Maine group developed a 22 question survey with input from Maine CDC staff. The

survey was developed in Survey Monkey and sent out via email to Leadership Maine Alumni. Recipients

had two weeks to respond. Leadership Maine Alumni include leaders in the community that represent

employers, business owners and employees.

Response Rate

A total of 250 participants responded to the survey.


Questions Asked & Summary of Responses

Listed below are the questions that were asked in the survey:

1) Are you aware of a program in Maine called Healthy Maine Works that helps businesses build

wellness programming in the workplace?

2) Which of the following health and worksite wellness programs is your organization offering to

employees in 2014? (please check all that apply)

3) What are the top three reasons your organization offers employee wellness initiatives?

4) Does your organization have a funded position(s) dedicated solely to directing employee

wellness initiatives?

5) What are the top three challenges your organization faces in relation to implementing employee

wellness programs?

6) On average, what percent of your employees participate annually in your employee wellness

programming?

7) Do you measure any of the following outcomes of your employee wellness programs?

8) To what degree do you think your wellness programming has been effective in improving the

following outcomes?

9) Please indicate the degree of interest you think your employees would have in the following

wellness topics:

10) Please indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with the following statements.

Worksite wellness initiatives:

11) Are you aware, or using, of these other worksite wellness resources/tools?

12) If your organization currently does not have an employee worksite wellness program how

interested are you in developing a program in the-

13) Which types of behavioral motivators tend to work best to drive health and wellness among

your employees?

14) How many employee FTEs (full time equivalent) do you have in your organization?

15) Is your organization For-Profit or Not-for-Profit?

16) Is your organization a Single-site or Multi-site Organization?

17) Which of the following categories best describes your organization?

18) In which county (counties) is your organization located?

19) Are you interested in learning more about Healthy Maine Works? Healthy Maine Works (HMW)

is the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (MeCDC) initiative to support

employers of all sizes with implementing worksite wellness programs.

20) Please provide us with your contact information below:

21) Thank you for your participation! If you have any final comments please feel free to add them

below:

22) Thank you for your time! Please feel free to comment below if you have any feedback for us

about your experience with Healthy Maine Works:


The following are the questions asked and a summary of the responses:

1) Are you aware of a program in Maine called Healthy Maine Works that helps businesses build

wellness programming in the workplace?

This question was asked to learn how many Maine businesses knew of HMW and whether they

were utilizing it.

Figure 1.1

Answer Options Response Percent

Response Count

Yes, I have heard of it but don't use it 41.2% 103

Yes, our organization uses Healthy Maine Works

8.8% 22

No, I have never heard of it 41.2% 103

Not sure 8.8% 22

Answered Question 250

Skipped Question 0

Of the combined 50 percent of respondents who had heard of HMW, only nine percent were

actually using it.

41%

9%

41%

9%

Figure 1.2 Are you aware of a program in Maine called Healthy Maine Works that helps businesses build wellness

programming in the workplace?

Yes, I have heard of itbut don't use it

Yes, our organizationuses Healthy MaineWorks

No, I have never heardof it

Not sure


2) Which of the following health and worksite wellness programs is your organization offering to

employees in 2014? (please check all that apply)

This question was asked to find out information about businesses that currently had worksite

wellness activities. Maine CDC was interested in finding out what was being offered and which

activities were most popular.

Figure 2.1


Response Count

Access to health information via paper-based literature or web portal

75.3% 110

Health and wellness education 65.8% 96

Access to wellness programs during work hours

60.3% 88

Healthy food choices 50.7% 74

Health risk survey 49.3% 72

Blood pressure screening 48.6% 71

Coaching 48.6% 71

Smoking cessation program 45.9% 67

Mental Health counseling 42.5% 62

Off-site wellness discounts 39.7% 58

Biometric screening 38.4% 56

Vaccinations 38.4% 56

Access by employee dependents to wellness programs/initiatives

37.0% 54

Weight management 36.3% 53

On-site fitness center 35.6% 52

Nutrition counseling/education 33.6% 49

24/7 health line 30.8% 45

Chronic disease management programs 30.1% 44

Telephonic health coaching 26.7% 39

Substance abuse/misuse prevention 22.6% 33

Physical challenges 20.5% 30

On-site employee health center 14.4% 21

Massage Therapy 12.3% 18

Peer support group 9.6% 14

Unknown 6.2% 9

Other (please specify)

38

answered question

146

skipped question

104


The most commonly offered activities provided are primarily literature based, information

available approaches. Activities requiring more interaction like health coaching, health risk

assessments (HRAs) and health screenings were being provided by less than half of survey

participants. Activities with health behavior changes like physical challenges were less

commonly used.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Access tohealth

informationvia paper-

basedliterature orweb portal

Health andwellness

education

Access towellnessprograms

during workhours

Healthy foodchoices

Health risksurvey

Blood pressurescreening

Figure 2.2 Which of the following health and worksite wellness programs is your organization offering to employees in 2014?


3) What are the top three reasons your organization offers employee wellness initiatives?

Figure 3.1

Answer Options Most

Important Second Most

Important Third Most Important

Response Count

To improve the overall health of employees

74 20 15 109

To reduce costs associated with health insurance

37 46 16 99

Employee request 6 3 6 15

To reduce costs associated with workers' compensation and disability claims

6 12 13 31

To improve employee productivity

4 11 20 35

To attract, recruit, and retain talented employees

3 11 20 34

To reduce absenteeism 1 12 16 29

To improve employee morale 0 12 14 26

To reduce employee turnover rates

1 1 6 8

answered question 134

skipped question 116

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

To improve the overallhealth of employees

To reduce costs associatedwith health insurance

To improve employeeproductivity

Figure 3.2 What are the top three reasons your organization offers employee wellness initiatives?


Participant answers indicate that their organizations invest in worksite wellness to:

1. Improve the overall health of their employees

2. Reduce health care costs associated with health insurance

3. Improve employee productivity

This reflects that businesses believe that having healthy employees will help benefit their

business because employees will be healthy and more productive.

4) Does your organization have a funded position(s) dedicated solely to directing employee

wellness initiatives?

This question was asked to find out how many businesses are able and/or willing to fund an

employee position to promote worksite wellness and take charge of planning/promoting

activities with other employees. This can improve coordination, implementation and outcomes.

Figure 4.1


Response Count

Yes, these activities are a formal part of their job description

33.5% 55

No 57.3% 94

Unsure 9.1% 15

answered question 164

skipped question 86

34%

57%

9%

Figure 4.2 Does your organization have a funded position(s) dedicated soley to directing employee wellness initiatives?

Yes, these activities area formal part of theirjob description

No

Unsure


Thirty-four percent of respondents have an employee where workplace wellness activities are

part of the job description. The majority of respondents (57 percent) do not have a dedicated

position for this work. This shows that much of the work is done by employee(s) as an add-on to

their other job duties, which may impact program success.

5) What are the top three challenges your organization faces in relation to implementing

employee wellness programs?

This question helped identify what the barriers are for employers in implementing wellness

programs. This information will assist in planning to help businesses overcome barriers to

providing quality worksite wellness programs.

Figure 5.1

Answer Options Greatest

Challenge

Second Greatest

Challenge

Third Greatest

Challenge

Response Count

Lack of budget to support and sustain a program

30 15 7 52

Government compliance and regulation 2 3 0 5

Implementing and sustaining individual behavior change

26 24 10 60

Addressing the health needs of an aging workforce

12 8 7 27

Implementing and sustaining a "culture of wellness"

24 17 17 58

Impact is difficult to track and manage 10 8 13 31

Lack of management support for employee wellness programs

5 6 7 18

Unsure of how to implement employee wellness programs

4 11 8 23

Lack of employee participation or engagement

11 16 21 48

Employee lack of confidence in effectiveness of wellness programs

4 3 8 15

Lack of employee knowledge about the importance of wellness

0 10 5 15

Understanding employee attitudes towards wellness

4 3 10 17

Other (please specify) 24


Skipped Question 115


The top three barriers identified by participants were:

1. Lack of budget to support and sustain a program

2. Implementing and sustaining individual behavior change

3. Implementing and sustaining a “culture of wellness”

Information related to barriers is useful in order to tailor assistance and resources for employers

through the HMW online planning tool and inform the technical assistance available through the

local Healthy Maine Partnerships (HMPs).

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Implementing and sustaining individual behaviorchange

Implementing and sustaining a "culture ofwellness"

Lack of budget to support and sustain a program

Lack of employee participation or engagement

Addressing the health needs of an agingworkforce

Figure 5.2 Which are the top three challenges your organization faces in relation to implementing employee wellness programs?


6) On average, what percent of your employees participate annually in your employee wellness

programming?

This question was asked to find out the participation rates of the businesses’ worksite wellness

programs, which may indicate factors such as quality and comprehensiveness of the program.

Figure 6.1


Response Count

0-10% 23.7% 32

11-20% 8.9% 12

21-30% 16.3% 22

31-40% 5.2% 7 41-50% 8.9% 12

51-60% 6.7% 9

61-70% 8.1% 11

71-80% 8.9% 12

81-90% 7.4% 10

91-100% 5.9% 8



The overall graph indicates the participation rates for most respondents. This indicates that

work can be done to help businesses successfully promote and implement quality worksite

wellness programs that will attract more employee interest.

33%

21% 16%

17%

13%

Figure 6.2 On average, what percent of your employees participate annually in your employee wellness programming?

0-20%

21-40%

41-60%

61-80%

81-100%


7) Do you measure any of the following outcomes of your employee wellness programs?

This question was asked to find out how many businesses actively track these indicators.

The Workplace Wellness Programs Study Final Report states that “In spite of their popularity at

workplace, the impact of wellness programs is rarely formally evaluated by employers.”3

Figure 7.1


Response Count

Employee health care costs 74.0% 57

Absenteeism 37.7% 29

Disability claims 39.0% 30

Worker's compensation costs 49.4% 38

Employee productivity 18.2% 14

Employee morale 23.4% 18

Employee's participation in prevention services 57.1% 44

Employee's participation in disease management 28.6% 22

Employees personal accountability 27.3% 21

Employee retention 23.4% 18

Other (please specify)

20



From the answers provided, it is clear that the majority of participants track the costs of

employee health care and their participation in prevention services, but many other indicators

are not tracked as closely, such as absenteeism and presenteeism.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Employeehealth care

costs

Employee'sparticipationin prevention

services

Worker'scompensation

costs

Disabilityclaims

Absenteeism Employee'sparticipation

in diseasemanagement

Figure 7.2 Do you measure any of the following outcomes of your employee wellness programs?


8) To what degree do you think your wellness programming has been effective in improving the

following outcomes?

This question was asked to see what elements of worksite wellness programs businesses believe

are effective and what parts are not effective.

Figure 8.1

Answer Options Very

Effective Effective

Somewhat Effective

Not Very

Effective

Not at All

Effective

Response Count

Reducing health care costs

10 31 31 15 7 94

Reducing worker absenteeism

3 16 40 21 8 88

Reducing workers' compensation claims

4 18 29 21 10 82

Improving employee productivity

1 22 43 16 7 89

Improving employee morale

7 26 35 18 6 92

Increasing participation in wellness services

9 33 30 16 6 94

Increasing participation in disease management

4 26 28 25 7 90

Increasing employee's personal accountability

6 17 35 26 7 91

Improving employee retention

1 13 32 30 11 87




The overall belief is that worksite wellness programs are effective in reducing health care costs,

increasing participation in wellness services and somewhat effective in boosting employee

productivity. Many respondents indicate that wellness programs are not effective in improving

employee retention.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Reducing healthcare costs

Improvingemployee

productivity

Increasingparticipation in

wellness services

Improvingemployeeretention

Figure 8.2 To what degree do you think your wellness programming has been effective in improving the following outcomes

Effective


9) Please indicate the degree of interest you think your employees would have in the following

wellness topics:

Figure 9.1

Answer Options Very

Interested Interested

Moderately Interested

Slightly Interested

Uninterested Response

Count

Asthma management 3 18 32 33 12 98

Blood pressure management

13 43 30 14 2 102

Cholesterol management

13 47 27 14 1 102

Diabetes management 13 36 29 17 5 100

Emotional health 17 32 34 13 5 101

Ergonomics 18 30 34 18 4 104

Fatigue reduction 18 30 37 14 5 104

Health/wellness improvement

19 47 29 8 2 105

Healthy cooking/meal planning

16 37 33 11 5 102

Oral health 5 18 39 29 6 97

Physical activity 16 39 34 9 2 100

Pregnancy/prenatal care 6 26 31 24 11 98

Smoking cessation 2 28 31 24 11 96

Substance abuse prevention

2 19 33 26 15 95

Weight management 31 44 20 9 1 105

Answered Question 112 Skipped Question 138

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Weightmanagement

Cholesterolmanagement

Health/wellnessimprovement

Physical activity

Figure 9.2 Please indicate the degree of interest you think your employees would have in the following wellness topics:

Interested


Many employers believe weight management, cholesterol management, health and wellness

improvement and physical activity are topics of interest for their employees. This helps with

planning what information should be provided to employers through HMW and what resources

may be most desirable.

10) Please indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with the following statements.

Worksite wellness initiatives:

Figure 10.1

Answer Options Strongly

Agree Agree

Neither Agree or Disagree

Disagree Strongly Disagree

Response Count

Help employees develop healthier lifestyles

38 60 20 0 0 118

Impact a limited number of employees

9 50 23 31 3 116

Improve employees' overall health

31 59 25 3 0 118

Improve employee morale 25 55 31 5 0 116

Improve employee productivity 22 53 38 5 0 118

Improve services provided in your organization

21 45 40 11 1 118

Increase employees' participation in wellness prevention

34 59 22 3 0 118

Increase employees' participation in chronic disease

19 54 40 4 1 118

Increase employees' personal accountability

17 46 45 9 1 118

Lower health care costs 37 48 27 6 0 118

Reduce absenteeism 19 42 49 7 1 118

Reduce employee workers' compensation claims

20 34 59 4 1 118

Reduce employee disability claims

17 36 57 7 0 117




More than half of the respondents believe that worksite wellness initiatives help employees

develop healthier lifestyles (51 percent), improve employees’ overall health (50 percent) and

increase employees’ participation in wellness prevention (50 percent). An emphasis seems to

be on making the employee healthy rather than economic impact.

11) Are you aware of, or using, these other worksite wellness resources/tools?

This question was asked to see which resources, if any, participants utilize for their worksite

wellness efforts.

Figure 11.1

Answer Options Never

Heard Of

Heard Of But Don't

Use

Heard Of And Use

Response Count

Wellness Council of America (WELCOA)

70 30 20 120

Move and Improve 72 24 25 121

Sparkpeople 92 19 5 116

Program offered through health insurer

22 43 54 119

Other commercially purchased program

43 33 29 105

Other, not listed above (please list in the comment section below)

27 2 9 38




0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Help employees develophealthier lifestyles

Improve employees'overall health

Increase employees'participation in wellness

prevention

Figure 10.2 Please indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with the following statements. Worksite wellness initiatives:

Agree


The top three identified programs were:

1. Program offered through health insurer

2. Other resources not listed

3. Move and Improve

12) If your organization currently does not have an employee worksite wellness program how

interested are you in developing a program in the:

Figure 12.1

Answer Options Very

Interested Somewhat Interested

Not Very Interested

Not At All Interested

We Have an Existing

Wellness Program

Response Count

Next year 9 16 13 10 41 89 Next three (3) years

16 19 10 7 37 89

Answered Question 98 Skipped Question 152

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

WellnessCouncil ofAmerica

(WELCOA)

Move andImprove

Sparkpeople Programofferedthrough

health insurer

Othercommercially

purchasedprogram

Figure 11.2 Are you aware, or using any, of these other worksite wellness resources/tools?

Never Heard Of

Heard Of But Don't Use

Heard Of And Use


For those who answered this question and do not currently have an existing wellness program,

the majority of them would be interested in starting a worksite wellness program within the

next three years.

13) Which types of behavioral motivators tend to work best to drive health and wellness among

your employees?

This question was asked to find out what respondents thought would best motivate employees

to be healthy.

Figure 13.1


Response Count

Rewards or incentives for improvements in health and wellness results

56.5% 70

Penalties or disincentives for noncompliance or lack of improvements in health and wellness results

0.8% 1

Combination of rewards and penalties 29.8% 37

Not sure 12.9% 16



0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

VeryInterested

SomewhatInterested

Not VeryInterested

Not At AllInterested

We Have anExisting

WellnessProgram

Figure 12.2 If your organization currently does not have an employee worksite wellness program how interested are you in developing a program in the:

Next year

Next three (3) years


Fifty-seven percent feel that rewards or incentives for improvements in health is the best way to

motivate employees and did not favor penalties or disincentives for noncompliance (one

percent).

14) How many employee FTEs (full time equivalent) do you have in your organization?

This question was asked to find out business size.

Figure 14.1


Response Count

Less than 50 28.1% 36

51-100 14.8% 19

101-500 19.5% 25

501-1000 10.9% 14

1001-2000 7.0% 9

Over 2000 19.5% 25



57%

1%

30%

13%

Figure 13.2 Which types of behavioral motivators tend to work best to drive health and wellness among your employees?

Rewards or incentives for improvements in health and wellness results

Penalties or disincentives for noncompliance or lack of improvementsin health and wellness results

Combination of rewards and penalties

Not sure


Twenty-eight percent of respondents have less than 50 employees. This will be help to plan

how to engage smaller businesses in creating successful programs.

15) Is your organization For-Profit or Not-for-Profit?

This question was asked for demographics of the organizations participating in the survey.

Figure 15.1


Response Count

For-profit 42.1% 53

Not-for-profit 57.9% 73



28%

15%

19%

11%

7%

20%

Figure 14.2 How many employee FTEs (full time equivalent) do you have in your organization?

Less than 50

51-100

101-500

501-1000

1001-2000

over 2000


Fifty-eight percent are not-for-profit while 42 percent are for-profit.

16) Is your organization a single-site or multi-site organization?


Figure 16.1


Response Count

Single-site organization 28.1% 36

Multi-site organization 71.9% 92



42%

58%

Figure 15.2 Is your organization for-profit or not-for-profit?

For-profit

Not-for-profit

28%

72%

Figure 16.2 Is your organization a single-site or multi-site organization?

Single-siteorganization

Multi-siteorganization


Seventy-two percent of participants are multi-site organization and 28 percent are single-site

organization.

17) Which of the following categories best describes your organization?

This question was asked to identify the demographic of the participating businesses.

Figure 17.1


Response Count

Construction 7.1% 7

Education 25.5% 25

Financial services 11.2% 11

Food service industry 1.0% 1

Government 9.2% 9

Healthcare 27.6% 27

Hospitality 1.0% 1

Information technology 0.0% 0

Legal services 6.1% 6

Manufacturing 6.1% 6

Retail 2.0% 2

Sales and marketing 1.0% 1

Science and biotech 2.0% 2

Transportation 0.0% 0




28%

26% 11%

9%

7%

19%

Figure 17.2 Which of the following categories best describes your organization?

Healthcare

Education

Financial services

Government

Construction

Other


The majority of the businesses are from the healthcare (28 percent) or education (26 percent)

sectors, and the remaining businesses are somewhat evenly distributed among the remaining

sector choices (though there was no representation for information technology and

transportation).

18) In which county (counties) is your organization located?


Figure 18.1


Response Count

Androscoggin 19.5% 24

Aroostook 16.3% 20

Cumberland 46.3% 57

Franklin 14.6% 18

Hancock 14.6% 18

Kennebec 31.7% 39

Knox 14.6% 18

Lincoln 12.2% 15

Oxford 13.8% 17

Penobscot 23.6% 29

Piscataquis 12.2% 15

Sagadahoc 15.4% 19

Somerset 16.3% 20

Waldo 12.2% 15

Washington 12.2% 15

York 21.1% 26




There was a good range of representation from all 16 Maine counties, with Cumberland being

home to 46 percent of participant organizations while Lincoln, Piscataquis, Waldo, and

Washington counties had the least representation with 12 percent each.

19) Are you interested in learning more about Healthy Maine Works? Healthy Maine Works

(HMW) is the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) initiative to support

employers of all sizes with implementing worksite wellness programs.

This question was asked to find out the level of interest participants had in learning more about

HMW.

Figure 19.1


Response Count

Yes 35.3% 42

No 64.7% 77




0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%

Figure 18.2 In which county (counties) is your organization

located?


While 35 percent would like to learn more about HMW, the majority of respondents said no (65

percent). This information provides an opportunity to find out why the majority of respondents

are not interested in learning more about HMW.

20) Please provide us with your contact information below:

33 respondents provided contact information.

35%

65%

Figure 19.2 Are you interested in learning more about Healthy Maine Works?

Yes

No


21) Thank you for your participation! If you have any final comments please feel free to add them

below:

15 respondents provided comments under this question and these comments are provided

below:

1. Our lack of interest stems only from a dispersed workforce and a small company (under

20) with no one that has the time to assume responsibility for implementing a program.

I am hoping within a year or two that will change.

2. We have found that the most effective way to provide a healthier workforce is face to

face health coaches. On-line health assessments offer small adjustments with little

accountability.

3. None of this is very practical for employers (less than ten employees) of our small size.

About the only thing that I can add that relates is that we have been in business since

1975 and have never had a workers comp claim and have always provided health

insurance to our employees and their families. Perhaps you could attach your program

to either health or workers comp.

4. Good survey.

5. Because my company does not have a wellness program, it was hard to answer many of

the questions relating wellness program effectiveness.

6. Section nine and ten of your survey are going to deliver information that will mislead.

People running health improvement programs are doing it because they believe the

programs will have an impact. You should assess the degree to which the program has

had an impact in the core areas and have people identify the key barriers and success

factors.

7. Answers given as board member of Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice, Lewiston ME

8. It would be helpful to learn about some no/low cost programs that small organizations

(one to five employees) can implement to increase the health of their employees.

9. This survey doesn't reflect self-employment.

10. I like that the wellness programs take overall health in consideration. When programs

only look at obesity as an indicator, it doesn't really paint the whole picture. While

obesity is ONE indicator, I would say that it is just one symptom of a person's health.

11. It appeared this survey was leading/marketing the CDC Healthy Maine Works program,

vs inquiring truly about effective Health and Wellness programs currently used by

employers.

12. We only have two employees and do not even provide health insurance due to cost.

13. We are a relatively small social services organization with a limited budget but have

tried to offer some wellness and prevention services as budget allows.

14. None or n/a should have been options on the questions hard to answer otherwise

15. My company is currently using a third party provider to meet wellness needs via

Employee Health Solutions.


22) Thank you for your time! Please feel free to comment below if you have any feedback for us

about your experience with Healthy Maine Works:

Seven respondents provided comments under this question and are provided below:

1. I utilize the newsletter to adapt if for Intranet "tidbits" to encourage wellness among

our employees.

2. We also use the HERO Scorecard tool and are participating in the Maine Health

Management Coalition's CEO Champions program.

3. I am aware of the work on the Healthy Maine Partnership, was a HMP director and

active member of our organizations wellness team.

4. Healthy Maine has been a good catalyst in our organization to encourage a more

healthy lifestyle.

5. I participate with the Healthy Main Street program with the Heart of Biddeford. If

Healthy Maine Works is part of that effort, then I appreciate the efforts. If not, then I

made a mistake in saying I'm aware of it.

6. The Maine Downtown Center in partnership with MCD Public Health uses this tool

through the Healthy Maine Streets program.

7. Healthy Maine Works is an awful website! We've used it but only because we had to as

part of participating the in the Healthy Maine Streets program. Asking small businesses

to use this online tool as a prerequisite to participating in our wellness program was a

MAJOR roadblock. Sorry to say so, but it is true.


Conclusion

Of those who completed the survey, it is clear that Maine employers believe that worksite wellness

programs can be effective in helping to improve the health and wellness of their employees and

improve the company bottom line.

Many large businesses have already invested in worksite wellness programs for their employees. As this

survey shows small employers also have a great interest in worksite wellness but face barriers which

include:

Lack of budget

Employee participation

Sustaining individual behavior changes in their employees

This information will assist the HMW initiative to focus on what small employers need to help them

implement and sustain a worksite wellness program.

Now that there is a better understanding of how Maine employers feel about worksite wellness, the

next steps for Maine CDC are to expand and grow the Healthy Maine Works initiative based on needs

and comments made by respondents.

HMW has been evolving before the results of the survey were shared with Maine CDC. A change that

has occurred is that the monthly HMW newsletter offers two new sections:

1) Employer Success Story

This section provides an opportunity for an employer to share any success they have

had adopting a new policy or program that benefits the health of their employees. This

is a great way for employers to share what they are doing and help create ideas for

other HMW users.

2) Ask Us

This section allows an employer to submit a question about a health topic and receive

an answer by one of the Maine CDC staff.

The biggest change that has occurred is the adoption of the Healthy Us Scorecard in February 2015. This

is an online tool designed to guide and support employers in developing worksite wellness programs

through recommendations and resources. Unlike the previous tool, the Healthy Us Scorecard was

developed to be easy to use and helpful to any sized employer across the state. If offers an assessment

tool to establish health-related priorities and provides detailed recommendations for employers.

In closing, a question to consider is how we can provide programs and resources relevant for smaller

employers (less than 50 employees) to create an impact on the health of their employees. After

reviewing the survey results, the next step is to help Maine employers find the right balance that allows

them to offer a quality and comprehensive worksite wellness program without putting any undue stress

on the employer and their employees.

http://www.healthyusscorecard.org/


References

1. RAND Corporation. Workplace Wellness Programs Study: Final Report. July 2013.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR254.html Accessed March 19, 2015.

2. National Small Business Association. September 2012. http://www.nsba.biz/?p=4224 Accessed

March 19, 2015.

3. RAND Corporation. Workplace Wellness Programs Study: Final Report. July 2013.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR254.html Accessed March 19, 2015.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR254.html

http://www.nsba.biz/?p=4224

http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR254.html

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, age, or national origin, in admission to, access to, or operations of its programs, services, or activities, or its hiring or employment practices. This notice is provided as required by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and in accordance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Maine Human Rights Act and Executive Order Regarding State of Maine Contracts for Services. Questions, concerns, complaints or requests for additional information regarding the ADA may be forwarded to DHHS’ ADA Compliance/EEO Coordinators, 11 State House Station – 221 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04333, 207-287-4289 (V), 207-287-3488 (V), TTY users call Maine relay 711. Individuals who need auxiliary aids for effective communication in program and services of DHHS are invited to make their needs and preferences known to the ADA Compliance/EEO Coordinators. This notice is available in alternate formats, upon request.

Documents

Leadership maine wellness in partnership with healthy ... · Physical challenges 20.5% 30 On-site employee health center 14.4% 21 Massage Therapy 12.3% 18 Peer support group 9.6%